Tribute for Sandy Hook shooting victim aided by Pittsford boy

Members of Catherine’s Peace Team and Pittsford Mendon ninth-graders, Eliza Sherman, left, and Caroline Thomas, write names on labels for a fundraising dance at St. John Fisher College on Saturday. The dance was to help raise funds for an animal sanctuary in the memory of Catherine Hubbard.
(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/, staff photographer)Buy Photo

There's a place, somewhere in the depths of their subconscious, where Catherine Hubbard is still alive.

And when she pops out from her hiding place to visit her family in the middle of the night, it becomes a happy topic of conversation, rather than a painful reminder that she's gone.

"It puts me in a very good frame of mind in the morning when Freddy or Matt will say, 'I had a dream about Catherine!' and everybody becomes very excited," said Jennifer Hubbard, Catherine's mother. "It becomes an event in our house."

More than a year has passed since the 6-year-old was killed along with 25 others in Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But her family in Connecticut and her relatives in Rochester have spent the past 14 months channeling their memories of Catherine into a living tribute: an animal sanctuary that will bear her name.

Since her death, the family has been working toward making the sanctuary a reality, and early on, Catherine's 10-year-old cousin, Jack Sullivan of Pittsford, decided that he was going to help out, too, creating a fundraising group called Catherine's Peace Team.

Family members weren't surprised that Jack wanted to pitch in.

But as the group launches into its second year of existence, what has come as a surprise is just how successful young Jack has been: Catherine's Peace Team has raised more than $100,000.

'Her hand is in everything we do'

When Jack thinks of his cousin, he's often brought back to a moment from a couple of years back. He's outside a family baptism, and the cousins — Jack and Catherine and Catherine's brother Freddy — are playing tag in the yard.

But Catherine loses interest quickly and wanders off to chase butterflies instead.

When family members were thinking of a way to honor her legacy, her love of animals big and small was what led them to the sanctuary.

"It's definitely an outlet for us to do what we know Catherine would want," said Jennifer Hubbard. "Her hand is in everything that we do."

In Rochester, Jack and Catherine's Peace Team began recruiting students from throughout the area and beyond to spread messages of peace and kindness. Jack, along with several classmates, put together a presentation about the animal sanctuary, and showed it to local businesses to drum up support.

They used the Internet to spread the word across the globe — Catherine's Peace Team now has more than 1,800 Facebook followers representing 28 countries, including Afghanistan, Bulgaria and Brazil.

And they've kept youngsters involved throughout the whole process, organizing bake sales and selling T-shirts to help spread the message. On Saturday, several teenagers involved in Catherine's Peace Team held a fundraising dance at St. John Fisher College.

"I feel like I got to know Catherine," said Molly Dehn, a 15-year-old who volunteers with Catherine's Peace Team and helped organize the dance. "Even though I never knew her personally, I know how it feels to lose someone."

Last May, the group put on its biggest event of the year, a "Peace Party" that raised $45,000. They're planning to throw another one in a few months.

Their contributions have made a big impact on the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, which has amassed half a million dollars. Now, a business plan is in place, and Jennifer Hubbard said the organization is hoping to secure some land in the near future.

As the animal sanctuary gets closer to becoming a reality, Jack is dismissive of the notion that there's still a lot of work to be done.

"No, 'cause the first year, I think, was the hardest," said Jack. "Now we have all the sponsors and we can just call them again."

His mother, seated nearby, raised an eyebrow as she smiled at her son.

"We'll see if it works that way," said Kelly McCormick-Sullivan.

'The pain is still there'

A lot of time has passed since Dec. 14, 2012, especially for a 10-year-old. For Jack, Catherine has been gone for more than one-tenth of his life.

It might be years until he fully grasps the significance of what happened in Newtown, and that's all right.

But his family does worry about him spending too much time thinking about what happened to his cousin. For all the good that has come of Catherine's Peace Team, her relatives still carry with them a sadness that few others can comprehend.

"The pain is still there. Nothing can replace it. Nothing can replace her," said Dan Sullivan, Jennifer Hubbard's brother. "But you figure out a way to cope with it every day."

Much of the rest of the world has moved on from Newtown, having changed the channel or turned the page months ago. For family members, there's no distraction that's big enough to make them think about Catherine any less.

"It's hard to see Freddy sledding by himself," said Jennifer Hubbard. "Last year, it was too painful to even talk about the times where she and Freddy went sledding. But that's becoming more doable, and we can cherish those memories."

Now, when Catherine pops into their heads, they can push past her death and think about her life. About how she'd catch bugs and frogs and whisper to them. About how she'd try and help the old family dog to its feet, though it was twice her size.

About how much she would've loved the sanctuary that they're building.

"We have a lifetime of healing. It will never be the same," said Jennifer Hubbard. "But we're starting to put down roots for what will be Catherine's legacy. What we're doing is building something beautiful."